In Brief

Andy Tautfests 88-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the second half proved to be the difference Friday night as Newberg held on for a 21-18 Pacific Conference football victory against Century.

The Jaguars scored twice in the second half, but a failed two-point conversion on the first score and a missed extra point on the second score doomed Century to a three-point loss.

Newberg (3-3, 2-2) took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Oviatt to Tyler DeLashmutt and a 64-yard scoring run by Matt McCarthy. Century (1-5, 1-3) responded with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Marcos Hernandez to Carlos Trujillos with 19 seconds left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 14-6 at halftime.

Tautfest silenced the home crowd when he fielded the second-half kickoff at his own 12-yard line and raced through the Century defense for a touchdown and a 21-6 Newberg lead.

The Jaguars clawed back into the game with a 61-yard scoring run by Hernandez in the third quarter and a 29-yard touchdown hook-up from Hernandez to Spenser Erickson midway through the fourth quarter. Century got the ball back with 4:18 remaining, but Hernandez was intercepted by James Conrad on a 4th-and-4 play inside the three-minute mark.

Hernandez passed for 98 yards and rushed for 90 more, accounting for all three Century touchdowns. Oscar Rojas finished with four catches for 62 yards.

The Jaguars return to action tonight against Glencoe. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium.

McMinnville rolls against Spartans

McMinnville was too much for Hillsboro in a Pacific Conference football matchup last Friday night. The Grizzlies scored on their first five possessions en route to a 47-7 victory.

McMinnville (3-2, 1-2) added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to build a 47-0 lead before Hillsboro answered with a 17-yard scoring pass from Matt Jones to Dylan Frederick on the last play of the quarter.

That play was one of the few highlights for Hilhi (2-3, 1-2), which committed 13 penalties and turned the ball over three times, including a second-quarter fumble that led to Patrick Loumanns 52-yard touchdown return.

Jones completed 14-of-28 pass attempts for 107 yards, while Garrett Paul was 8-of-16 for 94 yards and an interception. Frederick caught five passes for 58 yards, and Michael Gaskell had four receptions for 56 yards. T.J. Cavender led the Spartans ground game with 47 yards on 11 carries.

McMinnville did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 275 yards as a team and averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Zach Roads had 66 yards on five carries (13.2 ypc), Tanner Scanlon had 61 yards and two touchdowns on six carries (10.2 ypc) and Zach Silver had 56 yards on six carries (9.3 ypc). Quarterback Gage Gubrud completed 10-of-14 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.